Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Paperback

The worry, when faced with the follow-up to books as good as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (both winners of the Nestlé Smarties Prize Gold Award), is that it won't be as good. With J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban any concerns are banished from page one. This, the third in the series, continues where the previous two left off and is a fantastic adventure of mystery, magic and mayhem combined with liberal doses of humour and plenty of suspense.

Forced to do his homework in the dead of night and forbidden to refer to his magic skills or his life at Hogwarts school, Harry Potter is forced to endure the summer holidays with the dreaded Dursleys. The arrival of Aunt Marge is the final straw and, in a fit of anger, Harry breaks all the rules and casts a spell on her, causing her to blow up like a balloon. Running away from his dreaded relatives, Harry expects to be expelled from Hogwarts for his blatant flaunting of the rule not to use magic outside term time. However, the arrival of the mysterious Knight Bus and a meeting with Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, result in Harry enjoying the rest of the holidays in the wonderful surroundings of the Leaky Cauldron.

The escape of Sirius Black--one time friend of Harry's parents, implicated in their murder and follower of "You- Know-Who"--from Azkaban, has serious implications for Harry for it would appear that Black is bent on revenge against Harry for thwarting "You-Know-Who". Back at Hogwarts, Harry's movements are restricted by the presence of the Dementors--guards from Azkaban on the look out for Black--however, this doesn't stop him throwing himself into the new Quidditch season and going about his normal business--or at least attempting to. Despite warnings Harry is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding Sirius Black--how could this one-time close friend of his parents become the cause of their deaths?

And why does the presence of the Dementors have such a devastating effect on him, causing him to hear the last moments of his mother's life?

With another four Harry Potter novels planned, Jo Rowling is creating a series of books which will become classics to rival C.S. Lewis'Chronicles of Narnia--books written for children but loved by adults too. (Ages 9 and up) --Philippa Reece

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Excellent reading of Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban - Rated
I chose to try this audiobook because I did not like the American audiobook of the same title. Stephen Fry is a great reader, who does spot-on voices for every character (even the minor ones). His reading truly adds to the enjoyment of one of my favorite series. Well worth it, even from America. I highly recommend this version over the American one to anyone who wants the audiobook.

Gripping escapism! - Rated
I now have the first three audio books and love listening to them when things get too stressful. Despite my familiarity with the stories, I can still immerse myself into them, allowing myself some time away from other matters! I hope to collect all seven audio books in the series and look forward to many more moments of respite.

When things started getting serious... - Rated
I really enjoyed the third book of the Harry Potter series because this is when things started getting more serious and a little less light hearted. This is when you really began to realize that dark things were indeed in store for Harry and that this whole voldemort thing was no silly business. It's also a very transitional novel in that it signals the move towards a more mature story line than that of the first two novels. Excellent book and a great prelude for the next one.

Stephen Fry is a gem - Rated
I thoroughly enjoyed this book when I read it but listening to Stephen Fry perform it was exceedingly enjoyable. Each of his characters is perfectly performed. This audiobook made my traveling completely enjoyable and I hate traveling.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - Rated
In my opinion Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a very murderous and exiting book.
I recomend this book sutable for ages above 7 because , there is unsutable language in parts of the book.
This book is the best of the best Harry Potter collection you could probally get.
Danial Radcliff is the best actor in the world because he brings the charcater to life.